Karetot 8: Women, Multiple Sacrifices, and Changing Torah Interpretation

Today we delve into women and ritual purity.  A woman is considered to be ritually impure after she has given birth for different periods of time if is has borne a boy or a girl.  After that time, she must bring sacrifices including a burnt offering and a sin offering to the Temple (Vayikra 12:6-8).  The birth offering should be a lamb but might be two turtle-doves or two young pigeons if she cannot afford the lamb.

Women did not have to visit the Temple on the Festivals and might only visit the Temple once each year.  Thus a woman might bring multiple sacrifices to the Temple after several births.  The birds would then become pricier.  

Our Mishna teaches:
Once in Jerusalem the price of a pair of doves rose to one golden dinar.  Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said, "I swear by the home of the Divine Presence I shall not sleep tonight until the price is in silver dinars".  Then he taught in the beit din: If a woman had five definite births or five definite discharges, she brings one offering and then she may eat the sacrificial meat and she is not bound to bring the other offerings.  As a result the price of a pair of birds stood at a quarter of a silver dinar each.

Rashi explains that the Torah instruction was to bring a sacrifice for each birth; however, a change was needed based on logic: "It is time to work for the Lord: they have made void Your Torah" (Tehillim 119:126).  Some rabbis argue about whether or not the Torah requirements was specific regarding multiple offerings.  The Ritva says that all agree that there is no biblical imperative to bring a separate sacrifice for each birth; instead, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel voided a rabbinical enactment.

When the Rabbis see that one Sage might be going against Torah law, they regroup and declare that it must have been rabbinical law that was broken.  Even when Tehillim is quoted to understand the importance of interpretation, the rabbis are hesitant to speak about the process of going against Torah law for the sake of the people.